Why Nitin Gadkari is right in saying your driverless cars dream is senseless

If driverless cars seem a distant possibility in India given the condition of roads and traffic, the technology can be adapted for other uses.Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has pledged that he would produce a vehicle that would drive by itself from Los Angeles to New York by the end of this year.

When former Uber chief Travis Kalanick visited India last year he said India would be the last place on earth to get self-driving cars.

As the world rushes towards the game-changing technology of driverless cars, many in India too are ready to jump on to the bandwagon. Tata Elxsi, the Tata Group’s design and technology firm, has been working on driverless cars.

It is not difficult for Indian auto companies to develop driverless cars. But the issue is the roads, not cars. No technology can navigate the numerous challenges a driver faces on chaotic Indian roads even in big cities.

From cows, camels and elephants to auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, hard-carts, trucks and cycles, the traffic on Indian roads is more diverse than anywhere in the developed world. Add to that the lack of proper signage and poor upkeep of roads.

“After training and feeding hundreds of photos, our system cannot identify 15 per cent of the vehicles on the Indian road,” said Nitin Pai, senior vice president and head of strategy and marketing at Tata Elxsi while speaking to Bloomberg. “The driverless car is ready for the road. But is the road ready for the car?”

More than novel technology, India needs robust infrastructure and more jobs for its teeming youth.

Union Minister for Roads and Transport Nitin Gadkari says the government would rather protect the jobs of millions of drivers than see a technological marvel on the streets. He said the driverless technology would render millions of Indian drivers jobless.

Can driverless technology be adapted to local requirements?

Teams at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur, Kanpur and Bombay are working on driverless technology, a project that has evoked interest from Indian automotive companies.

They are developing technology for driverless cars keeping the Indian market in mind, in contrast to the global tech majors who are building and testing technologies in the Western market.

If driverless cars seem a distant possibility in India given the condition of roads and traffic, the technology can be adapted for other uses.

Anand Mahindra, the maverick chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, told the company's shareholders last year that he would like to develop a driverless tractor.

The largest tractor producer in the world would surely know if the technology will work.